WASHINGTON, D.C. – The North Carolina Central University volleyball team picked up its first ever win in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship tournament since joining the league in 2011-12 by knocking off University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 3-1, on Friday afternoon in Burr Gymnasium on the campus of Howard University.
The fourth-seeded Eagles prevailed in the quarterfinal showdown over the fifth-seeded Hawks by set scores of 25-20, 21-25, 26-24 and 25-17.
NC Central (11-13 Overall) will next play the top-seeded Howard Bison in the semifinals on Saturday at 5 p.m. The winner of that match will play in the championship match on ESPNU that will be contested on Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern Shore ended its season with a 12-14 overall record.
Senior
Ammaarah Williams, an All-MEAC First Team honoree for a second straight season, led the Eagles with 14 kills and two aces while sporting a sparkling .419 hitting percentage. Classmate
Celene Morris followed with a season-high 11 kills. MEAC Setter of the Year sophomore
Lauren Janok netted her 13th double-double of the season with 30 assists and 10 digs. Senior
Arlanda Faulkner, who joined Williams and Janok as All-MEAC selections, led NCCU with 18 digs. Senior
McKayla Young chipped in eight kills and five blocks (one solo) for 11 points.
NCCU hit .448 to take the first set by five points. Williams had five kills on just six attempts and Faulkner recorded four of her five kills in that frame. However, the Eagles attack went cold in the second set, committing more attacking errors than kills, to allow the Hawks to level the match.
In a close third set that fans witnessed 12 ties and seven lead changes, NCCU rallied from a late 22-19 deficit with a closing 7-2 run to regain the set advantage. Williams closed out the set victory with two consecutive kills.
A block, kill and two aces by Williams during a 10-5 run helped the Eagles break a 6-6 tie in the fourth set. NCCU remained in front from that point and a kill by Vacha ended the first-ever postseason win at the DI level for the Eagles.
